Foes of Morales stage general strike in Bolivia

By Eduardo Garcia

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Bolivian governors opposed to President Evo Morales' leftist reforms staged a general strike on Tuesday in five of the country's nine provinces, demanding a bigger share of energy revenues.

The protest was organized just nine days after Morales won more than 67 percent of votes to survive a recall referendum. The vote, however, also confirmed his main right-wing rivals in office, deepening a power struggle that has raged all year.

Shops and banks were closed on Tuesday and traffic was down to a trickle on the streets of Santa Cruz, the capital of the country's farming heartland. One-day strikes were also held in Beni, Pando, Tarija and Chuquisaca provinces, with local media reporting greater participation in urban areas.

The governors want Morales to stop taking energy revenue previously earmarked for the provinces to pay for a national pension scheme. But Morales says they can afford to help with anti-poverty programs because their coffers swelled after he hiked taxes on energy companies in 2006.

"Everyone is complying with the strike ... our regions need to recover these resources," protest leader Branko Marinkovic told reporters in Santa Cruz early on Tuesday before calling Morales "a dictator."

Although Marinkovic said he wanted to avoid violence, young people were seen coming in and out of his office building carrying batons and baseball bats.

After a recent, failed meeting with the opposition governors, Morales said they "only want money" while his foes accused him of trying to strangle them financially.

The president had to cancel rallies ahead of the recall vote in some regions due to violence, and last week anti-government protesters in Santa Cruz beat up two police officers in front of TV cameras.